Avenger of Blood
by Elrond's Scribe
Summary: Cedric Diggory is dead. But does that mean he has no part yet to play in the fight against Voldemort? Bella Swan is reeling from being deserted by Edward in NM. Can she find comfort from the most unlikely source? And just what can Jacob Black discover that will imperil the magical forces of England and America? Harry Potter meets the Silmarillion! Consistent with my Omega universe!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I am very new to this fandom, my main fandoms being Lord Of The Rings/Silmarillion and Narnia. For all of my readers from those fandoms: I'm sorry, but I'm stuck on all my other stories right now. This does tie in to my Omega universe; but you don't need to read Omega for this story. Actually it won't help you to read Omega at all at this point.**

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_The man raised his wand and pointed it toward Cedric. For a split second he understood who was meant by "the spare"; but before he even had time to think of a defense the man cried, "Avada Kedavra!" and Cedric knew no more._

~oo00oo~

Instead of the nothingness he had expected, Cedric found that he seemed to be waking as after a night's sleep. He was lying on his back on something solid, though he was not uncomfortable. There did not seem to be anyone around. There were no voices or footsteps. _If this is what dying is like_, he reflected. _It's not so dreadful after all_.

He sat up and looked around. He seemed to be in a great white hall, with high walls and a roof of something which looked like glass, though he got the impression that it was actually much more valuable than glass.

"Cedric Diggory," said a deep, heavy, solemn voice.

Cedric rose automatically to his feet. A very tall, broad-shouldered man was walking toward him. His face was handsome, but immovably grave, and Cedric knew without asking that he was the Judge of the Dead, the Doomsayer. He wondered fleetingly if he should be afraid, but something about the solemnity of the pale face assured him rather than otherwise. Cedric dared to imagine that the grimness was wholly the Doomsman's nature, and that he was not in any way malevolent toward the souls that he gathered.

"Are you here to take me?" he asked.

"I am," said the Doomsman. "It is mine to judge the dead, and to send them forth, or to keep them."

"So I have died," said Cedric. "Please - Sir - what do you mean by send forth?" It seemed rather cheek to refer to such a dread Lord without some term of repect.

"The Children of Men who come into my care linger only briefly before passing beyond the World to their eternal destiny. These Halls are but a resting place for most."

"Most, Sir?"

"There are some," said the Doomsman. "Who have so defiled and maimed their own souls that they must remain in my Halls forever."

_People like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - Voldemort_, thought Cedric.

Then, suddenly, a door opened to his left some distance away. Through it he saw darkness, which confused his eyes for a moment. Then he saw clearly the graveyard where he had died. Harry Potter stood alone, surrounded by a ring of men robed in black. He stood facing a tall, thin figure in a black robe with a dull, dead-white face, scarlet eyes, and two thin slits for nostrils. They seemed to be duelling; a jet of red light was issuing from Harry's wand while a jet of green light issued from the wand of the pale, red-eyed wizard.

As he watched, both Harry and his opponent were by some unknown force lifted from the ground and carried through the air. In an open space they came to rest, their wands still shooting their respective red and green jets of light.

"What's going on?" asked Cedric, turning to the Doomsman. "What's happening?"

"Your schoolfellow now stands in combat with his ancient enemy who has plotted his death for nearly all of his mortal life," answered the Doomsman.

"Who - " began Cedric, puzzled. Then he gasped. "You mean - _Voldemort_?" He had to force himself to say the name. "Harry's dueling with _Voldemort_?"

He turned back to look. Harry's face was covered with dirt and sweat and tears, his right arm dripped blood, and he was trembling with evident fatigue and gasping for breath. Knowing that he was duelling with Voldemort, Cedric suddenly understood everything else he was seeing. The men who had been surrounding Harry and Voldemort before and were now running about like a group of chickens with their heads cut off must be Death Eaters. As for Harry and Voldemort themselves -

"The _Priori Incantatem_!" cried Cedric. "Harry Potter's wand has the same core as Voldemort's, doesn't it? That's why I can see them, isn't it, because Voldemort's wand was the one that killed me?"

"It is even so," said the Doomsman. "You and all others who were slain by that wand may speak to your friend and even intervene briefly on his behalf. If you wish, you may go to him now."

"Oh, thank you Sir!" cried Cedric, and he rushed forward toward the open doorway. He sprang over the threshold and found himself in the graveyard standing before Harry. Harry looked up into his face, shocked. Cedric stared back at him, willing him to remain strong, to keep up the struggle. . .

"Hold on, Harry," he said, and did not doubt that Harry could hear him.

It was no surprise to find himself joined by an old man, a Muggle from what could be guessed.

"He was a real wizard, then?" said the man, his eyes on Voldemort. "Killed me, that one did. . . You fight him, boy."

A woman joined them next. "Don't let go, now!" she cried. "Don't let him get you, Harry - don't let go!"

Harry's arms were trembling violently; he did not look as if he could keep it up for much longer.

A second woman appeared, tall and lovely, with red hair and green eyes that looked so much like Harry's that there could be no question as to who she was; and she said, "Your father's coming - hold on for your father - it will be all right - hold on. . ."

Then came a man whose resemblance to Harry (except for the eyes) was so startling that one again it was obvious who he was. "When the connection is broken," he said softly. "We will linger for only moments, but we will give you time. You must get to the Portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts. Do you understand, Harry?"

Of course now it seemed the obvious thing to do, to hold off Voldemort for the seconds they had remaining while Harry made his escape.

"Yes," gasped Harry.

No doubt it was selfish of him, cruel and wrong, to ask more of Harry than he already had to do, but Cedric asked it anyway. "Harry, take my body back, will you?" he said. "Take my body back to my parents." He could not comfort them, but he could do that much for them. And for Cho and Anthony and Michael and Maxine and Heidi and Herbert and Tamsin.

"I will," panted Harry, now shaking all over.

"Do it now," murmured James Potter. "Be ready to run - do it now - "

"NOW!" bellowed Harry, and he broke the connection with a wrench that must have hurt his arms horribly. Cedric turned with the others and flew upon Voldemort as he could never have hoped to do in life, and had the satisfaction of seeing Voldemort's terrified face for a second or two. Then the graveyard vanished before his eyes, and he was standing alone once more in the wide white hall. The Doomsman stood waiting for him.

"Will he be all right?" asked Cedric anxiously. "Will he make it back?"

For a moment the Doomsman was silent. Then he said, "So much I will tell you: Harry will return to the school, unharmed, bearing your body back to your father and mother, as you asked of him."

Cedric nodded. He was going to ask about Voldemort when something struck him - quite tardily. "Sir," he said. "Where are Lily and James Potter and the other woman and the old man? They were killed by that wand, weren't they? Why aren't they here with us?"

"They have all passed beyond the Circles of the World," replied the Doomsman. "They were summoned only by the call of the wands in battle. You linger here in my Halls because you were slain before your full purpose was fulfilled."

"Then - " Cedric's mind spun a little. "My dying was an accident? It wasn't supposed to happen?"

"In the Tapestry of Life there can be no accidents," answered the Doomsman. "I set before you a choice: you may pass beyond the Circles of the World to your eternal fate, or you may return, for a while, to the land of the living and in due time take up the fight against him who names himself Voldemort. But know that when you have made this choice it cannot be unmade."

Cedric was silent for a while. It would be much simpler, and certainly much more peaceful, to pass on beyond the Circles of the World and join all those who had died before him. There would be no warfare, loss, pain, or struggle. He could wait there for those whom he loved - his father and mother and sisters and brothers, his friends at Hogwarts, and Cho. They would come, one by one, and he would greet them, and be glad at their coming.

But then he thought of Harry, standing alone with dirt and tears on his face and blood on his arm and his wand locked with Voldemort's. He thought of his own father, and the Ministry of Magic, and Headmaster Dumbledore and everyone at Hogwarts, bowed under the rule of the Dark Lord.

"I wish to go back," he said. "I know I'm not important enough to make any real difference, but I want to join the fight against Voldemort, if I can."

The countenance of the Doomsman did not change. "So be it," he said, and immediately the bright hall began to fade away before Cedric's eyes.

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**I have no idea if Cedric has brothers and sisters or not. I decided to make him an only child. I also have no idea who-all his friends are. The names I gave were all on his Quidditch team.**

**I realize I am messing a little bit with the afterlife presented in the books, but I'm going to go ahead and say it: I am not nearly as loyal to the canon of Harry Potter as I am to the canons of Middle-Earth and Narnia. I will never be as loyal to any other canon as I am to Middle-Earth and Narnia.**

**Now this will cross over with Twilight, as well as LOTR/Silmarillion. No, Cedric Diggory and Edward Cullen will not be the same person.**

**Please tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 everybody! Hope y'all are enjoying yourselves like I am!**

**Forgot my disclaimer: I obviously own nothing. Don't sue me!**

**For this chapter it may help to read my fic Omega first.**

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"Ah, he is waking."

Cedric blinked and looked around again. This time he was lying in a bed, and the light surrounding him was sunlight. His body was wrapped in something soft and warm. He looked up for the source of the voice he had heard.

Hovering above him was a vision of wisdom and grace and power such as he had never seen in any mortal. The vision was like a man; but there were no words, at least in English, to describe the beauty of the face. There was a long braid of midnight-black hair, and two blue eyes which glowed like a pair of stars.

"How do you feel?" asked the apparition in a voice of flutes and harps and trumpets. Cedric was so amazed that he forgot to answer for a second or two. Then he stammered, "I - where am I? A-and who are _you_?" His own voice sounded rough and uncouth by comparison, and he shut his mouth quickly.

The man - was he a man? - laughed lightly, the very sound a glorious melody of joy. "Where are you?" he said. "You are _here_, and that is enough for the moment. I am named Daeron, which is Shadow in your tongue, I think."

"Daeron!" said a different voice, and Cedric was immensely relieved to recognize a perfectly human female voice. "He did _not_ ask for a lesson in languages!"

Cedric sat up. He was in a plain but spacious bedroom, and besides Daeron there were two other people in the room. There was another man - if man was the right word - with long black hair in an elaborate system of braids and grey eyes. He was taller than Daeron, and he had the same superhuman beauty. But the other figure was a blessedly human teenage girl with blue eyes and a blond braid over her shoulder.

She smiled at Cedric. "Hello," she said, and Cedric realized belatedly that she spoke with an American accent. "We've been waiting for you."

~oo00oo~

Over the next few days, Cedric learned a number of things.

He seemed to have landed himself in America, and the girl who had first greeted him, Julie, was a young American witch who possessed an unusually strong natural gift of foresight. She had of course forseen his coming, among many other things which she would not tell.

The strange, beautiful people who seemed to be his hosts called themselves Eldar, Eldalie, Peredhil, Vanyar, Noldor, Eluwaith, Denwaith, and all sorts of other confusing names. Julie simply called them all Elves, which further confounded Cedric, for these creatures were nothing in the least like the house-elves he had had for servants back at home. Far from thinking themselves born to serve, most of these Elves seemed rather to assume that the whole world was theirs by birthright, and Cedric was not inclined to tell any of them otherwise.

They were immortal, and did not age like humans. They also were immune to illnesses, and had sharper senses and greater physical endurance than humans. They _could_ be killed though, and they could apparently die of nothing more than a broken heart. Most importantly of all, they knew a great deal about Magic, both what was taught at Hogwarts and a great deal that Cedric had never heard of before. They were not exactly wizards, but were far too powerful to be called Muggles either.

They were in constant contact with the world of wizardry, and witches and wizards were almost always Apparating and Flooing in and out of the house. In fact, there were all sorts of visitors: other Elves, Dwarves, non-magical Mortal Men (who once again could hardly be called Muggles), and even a few Hobbits. There were also some visitors that Cedric did not often see and that the Elves said very little about.

Cedric himself was generally kept out of sight when other people were around. This he did not much like, but he knew that it was for his own safety. And anyway, the house where he was staying was a large one, and hardly dull, especially with Elves around nearly every corner. They seemed especially interested in teaching him things which could be done without a wand, in particular a form of Thought-speech and becoming a skilled Animagus; as well as more practical forms of Defense Against the Dark Arts, including the very difficult Partonus charm.

Then Maglor, who happened to be close friends with Daeron, said that Cedric had better have a semester of Muggle school starting in the winter. Cedric didn't like this at all, and protested mightily, but most of the other Elves thought it was a good idea. So despite his protests, they packed him off to a tiny Muggle town nearby which went by the name of Forks ("not to be confused with Spoons, my lad," said Maglor with a snort, and Cedric felt much the same). They equipped him with all sorts of Muggle knowledge and Muggle supplies and gave him all sorts of warnings about what not to say and do in front of Muggles.

"But there's no _point_ in my going to a Muggle school, especially if it's only for the last semester!" complained Cedric as Maglor handed him a stack of Muggle school textbooks to look at.

"You are a sharp and diligent student," said Maglor ignoring him as usual. "I think you can keep up easily at this school, even though you have never attended a Muggle school before."

The day after New Year's Daeron took Cedric down to Forks in a Muggle car to a Muggle house with a Muggle family. They had agreed to have Cedric stay with them for the remainder of the school year, and their name was Stanley.

"Now remember, Cedric," said Daeron anxiously as they neared their destination. "You must look, speak, and behave exactly like a Muggle for six months. I know you have your wand in case of emergencies, but once again I urge you - _do not_ use it otherwise, and - "

"I _know_, Daeron!" said Cedric. He was already beginning to be depressed; he had been missing his family and friends, but now that he was going to spend six months trying to be a Muggle he realized just how very lonely he was going to be. He was not used to loneliness; he had been liked and admired a great deal at Hogwarts and had never wanted for companions.

Mr. Roger Stanley was for the most part polite and rather disinterested; he didn't particularly seem to care what Cedric did or where he went as long as he was inside by midnight and didn't disrupt things in the house. Quite the contrast, Mrs. Stanley and seventeen-year-old Jessica, who was attending the same school as Cedric was now attending, seemed most fascinated with him, especially Jessica. Indeed, the first time she saw him as he walked in through the front door with his suitcase she gaped openly at him for a full minute, making him very uncomfortable.

Later on, when she was taking him up to his room, she explained herself. "I'm sorry about staring at you like that," she said. "I just freaked out for a minute because you look almost exactly like someone whose family recently moved away. Like seriously, the resemblance is scary."

"Oh," said Cedric. "That's all right." He paused. "Er, Jessica, would you mind showing me around a bit tomorrow?"

"Oh, sure, no problem," said Jessica. Cedric now rather wished she would leave him alone to get unpacked, but she hung about, chattering on about the most trivial-sounding things. It was fully an hour before she left, and Cedric could take out his wand, which was the only magical article he had brought along, and find a place for it in safety.

Then he got into bed, and tried not to think about the next day.

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**Cedric's first encounter with Elves straight from Middle Earth! Poor thing, he was so overwhemled.**

**I know it's weird, his going to a Muggle high school, especially for just one semester, but there is a reason for it. A very good reason.**

**I have no idea if Jessica has brothers or sisters or what her parents' names are. If anybody knows, please let me know.**

**Once again, please leave a review to tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here enters Bella Swan!**

**I'll be perfectly honest here: I don't particularly like or understand Edward, Bella, or Jacob. Almost every other character in the Twilight books I either like or understand or both, but for some reason the Big Three don't resonate with me. Weird, right?**

**Well, here goes my pathetic attempt at imitating Stephenie Meyer's writing style! As always, I own nothing.**

* * *

(This being the day that Charlie threatens to send Bella back to Jacksonville. In the book, Bella has just finished talking to Jessica about a movie. This is the beginning of the second semester.)

It was that day, after lunch, that the worst of my torments began. I was sitting at lunch by myself - no one would trouble to sit beside me any more - when out of the corner of my eye I saw Jessica walk in talking to a tall, straight male figure with dark brown hair. About halfway to the lunch counter he stopped, turned fully toward her, grasped her hand and said something very earnestly to her. When he did this, his profile came sharply into view, and I almost gasped. But no, I was seeing things, it wasn't possible.

Whatever he had said, it seemed to upset Jessica. She pouted and walked away, pique evident in her posture. The boy remained where he was, staring absently into space for a while, and I had to look away because in profile he simply looked too much like. . . I refused to think about it, for invariably the crushing pain would always return, drowning me like a tidal wave.

After a few seconds the boy seemed to rouse himself, and went to the lunch counter, and I could look away and try to calm myself.

It wasn't until Biology, ironically enough, that the blow fell. Since - since _his_ departure, I had had a whole desk to myself. No one, not even Mike, had offered to share it with me. I was sitting with my books open when a tall boy walked through the open door and presented a slip to Mr. Varner. Mr. Varner pointed him toward the only desk with an empty seat - mine. I automatically rearranged my books to make room for the newcomer, and didn't look up again until he had reached the desk and was about to sit down. I glanced up then, and my heart almost stopped beating.

_Edward_.

I gasped, unable to move, feeling the blood drain from my face.

He blinked and looked startled. "I'm sorry, is something wrong?" he asked, and his voice held an unmistakable British accent.

My mind reeled as it caught up with reality. So it wasn't Edward. I should have known better. That would have been too kind, much more than I deserved, to have Edward again.

"No," I heard my own voice say in a strangled whisper. "Nothing's wrong."

And abruptly I saw that he was not exactly like Edward. He was, in human terms, very handsome, but not flawlessly, devastatingly beautiful. His eyes were not golden, but deep grey. His hair was a plain dark brown, and his complexion was full of color. In effect, he was unforgivably _human_ - the flush rising slowly in his face was proof enough by itself - and at the same time was enough like Edward to make my throat constrict and my chest ache.

Suddenly, a look of compassion entered the grey eyes that stared out of Edward's face. He sat down and laid his books on the table and then turned back to me. "Aren't you Bella Swan?"

"Maybe. Why?" I asked dully.

"I've been told I look like somebody you used to know - " he broke off, examining my face. "Is is something you'd rather not talk about?"

I nodded silently, and turned my eyes to the front of the room, trying to let him know that the conversation was at an end.

But I couldn't stop myself looking at him. He was just so like and unlike Edward that I found myself staring at the strange English boy for long periods of time. He was clearly uncomfortable, and every now and again his eyes slid over to me; but he did not stare, and he did not speak until the end of class.

I gathered my books and was about to get up and walk away when the human voice with the British accent said, "Swan - er, Bella?"

I dropped my books and barely noticed until the boy went scrambling to pick them up. I could not risk looking at his face again - it reminded me _so much_ of Edward - so I stared instead at his hands as he gave me my books. I'm sure my face betrayed the pain I was in - it always did when I most needed to keep it hidden.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"You're welcome - can I walk to your next class with you?"

I should have said no. I should not have craved being with this Edward-who-was-not-Edward so desperately. I should not have lingered one moment longer than necessary. What came out of my mouth was, "Sure, whatever."

He walked beside me in silence for a few minutes, for which I was intensely grateful. I refused to look at him, though I could feel him shooting glances at me. Eventually he spoke, the words coming in a rush. "Bella, listen, I'm frightfully sorry about whatever happened between you and - Elliot?"

"Edward," I corrected automatically. I chose to glance at him then, and saw him blush furiously.

"Sorry, Edward," he said, a little wretchedly. "I know it's no business of mine, but - well, I know what it's like to - to lose somebody I cared for, and I wondered if perhaps we could be friends? Just friends of course - I, er, haven't really got friends here."

Of course he wouldn't. This was Forks. Newcomers weren't welcome here, and he was a foreigner to boot. His uncanny resemblance to one of the Cullens, who had never made themselves very popular, could hardly help his case. I understood exactly what he was asking, but I couldn't.

"No," I said, startled by the cold, abrupt sound of my voice. "I - I don't think that would be a good idea, at least not right now." Not now, while the pain of losing Edward clouded my days and haunted my dreams.

"Right," said the boy, seeming to pull himself together. "Sorry about barging in on you like that." And he hurried away, presumably to his next class.

It was only then that I realized I didn't know his name.

The protective numbness that I had managed to develop was gone now, and the crushing pain was back. My next classes went by in a haze, and I had almost reached home before I even remembered that I was going to a movie with Jessica. Once I reached home I stumbled up to my bedroom, nearly banging into the black trash bag which held the stereo. I collapsed onto my bed, not daring to open the closet where the first thing I would see would be the pile of designer clothes.

The tears came then. I didn't deserve Edward, that much I knew; but this wasn't fair. That I should have to face this human, imperfect look-alike with the English accent every day for the rest of the school year.

I cried myself to sleep.

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**The only reason I switched to first person for this chapter is that the books are written entirely in first person, from Bella's point of view. I wanted to make this chapter sound a bit more authentically Bella. For this purpose I may throw in an occasional chapter in first person, Bella's point of view.**

******I'm afriad I won't be posting for at least two weeks after this chapter.**

**Once again, please let me know how I did.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, I'm back! Usual disclaimer applies: I own nothing.**

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"Hey, Cedric," said Jessica from the doorway of his room.

Cedric looked up from his nearly-complete Calculus work. It was really rather like Arithmancy, execpt of course without magic. He was beginning to wonder why he had been taught that Muggles were dull and stupid; it was _harder_ to do things without magical aid, especially difficult school subjects.

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering if you felt like watching a movie tonight," said Jessica. "I'm going with a friend to Port Angeles to see _Dead End_. I think it's about zombies."

"Well," said Cedric. "Who's the friend?" He did not know, to be sure, what "zombies" might be, but watching a "movie" was undoubtedly a Muggle activity, and he needed practice being a Muggle.

"Bella Swan, the girl I told you about. She invited me to go to a movie with her."

Cedric almost winced. He had seen the obvious pain in the white face and expressive dark eyes of the delicate-looking girl when she had first seen him, and when he had mentioned Edward. _Merlin's beard, what did he do to her? _"Well, perhaps. . ." He hedged. "Are you sure it'll be all right with her? She didn't invite me."

"I'm inviting you. Do you want to come?"

Cedric thought he detected a hint of petulance in her voice. _What's _she _got against Bella?_

"Well, I've got homework to finish. . ." He tried again.

"It's not going anywhere! C'mon and have some fun."

Cedric was sure it would be, to say the least, hard on Bella to have to spend the evening with him. It was certainly going to be less than pleasant to spend an evening with _her_ if the mere sight of him made her turn as white as if she had seen a ghost. And he did _not_ want to get involved in whatever grievance lay between Bella and Jessica. On the other hand, he had heard about non-magical moving pictures from Julie, and he had not yet seen such a thing before. It sounded interesting. . .

"All right," he gave in. "I'm coming. When are we leaving?"

"In half an hour."

"I'll be ready," he promised. Jessica grinned and left the room, calling as she went, "Mom, Dad, we're going out to see a movie tonight."

Cedric struggled through the rest of Calculus and put on his shoes. By then it was nearly time to go, so he came out of his room and went downstairs.

Jessica led the way to her Muggle car, and Cedric climbed into the front passenger seat. He very carefully mimicked what he saw Jessica doing with her seatbelt, as it was only his second time in a Muggle car. Jessica turned on what you or I would know as popular music, but Cedric had never bothered his head about Muggle Music (or for that matter Muggle anything). He was now wishing rather vehemently that he had.

"So what part of England are you from?" asked Jessica.

This immediately put Cedric on his guard. "Oh - near a small town in Devon," he said. "Sort of obscure area, in the country really." A wave of acute homesickness swept over him.

"Not the big city type, huh?"

Cedric smiled. "Not really." He had been to London on several occasions. "It's just that there's not much of anybody there, when you're in the country. I like to _see_ people."

"So how's Forks working out for you so far?" There was more than a hint of avid curiosity in Jessica's question.

"Haven't seen hardly any of it yet," rejoined Cedric, flashing her a grin. Jessica giggled.

"It's not like there's that much to see," she admitted. "What made you decide to come to America?"

_Well you see, Jess, I actually got killed by the most powerful evil wizard in the world. And then I came back from the dead to get myself killed again, as like as not, fighting against him. Till then I'm sort of in hiding. Kindly don't tell anybody, will you_? "It's a long story, Jess."

Jessica couldn't ask more about it just then, for she was pulling up in front of what must be Bella Swan's house. In front of it sat an old faded red truck. Jessica blew the horn a couple of times. "Hopefully she'll be ought in a few minutes," she remarked. "She seemed to really want to see this movie, so she'd better not make us late."

Cedric decided to get it out into the open. "Is there something going on between you and Bella Swan?"

"Oh no, not at all," said Jessica in an ever-so-slightly higher-pitched voice.

Cedric raised his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, okay," sighed Jessica. "I guess in a way it's not really her fault - but ever since the Cullens left in September, Bella's been moping around and not talking to anyone or doing anything. It was just today she asked me if I wanted to see a movie with her, and it was the first time she'd spoken to me in months."

"I expect she's still torn up about this Edward chap who looks so much like me," said Cedric. "Was he - hullo, here she comes." _Oh, joy_.

Bella Swan had indeed just emerged from the house. In the moonlight Cedric might have been mistaken, but he thought that Bella looked rather sickly. She certainly had the look of one who has just tumbled out of bed and hastily made herself presentable. When she caught sight of Cedric she stopped dead in her tracks and turned considerably paler even than she had been before.

Jessica rolled down her window. "Hi, Bella!" she said in a cheerful voice, as if she didn't notice her friend's deathly pallor.

Bella's eyes never left Cedric's face. "Who's this?" she asked in a queer, flat voice that betrayed nothing of the torment evident in her wide brown eyes.

"A friend of mine, Cedric Montgomery," returned Jessica (this was Cedric's assumed name). "I thought it would be okay if he came along."

"Is this a date or something? I can leave you guys alone if you want."

"No, it's not a date, Bella! I just thought he'd be welcome to join us."

Cedric was biting his lip and looking from Bella to Jessica. "Look, I'm really sorry, Bella," he began.

"No, it's fine," said Bella, seeming to pull herself together. "Don't worry about it, Jess." And she climbed into the car behind Jessica without another word.

The silence was uncomfortable, and quite unusual considering that Jessica was around. Once Cedric glanced back at Bella to find her staring fixedly at him. He did not look at her again after that. The whole car ride was quiet.

Jessica drove straight to the theater. After she had parked and was turning off the car, Cedric leaned over and whispered to her, "Jessica, could you get the tickets? I'd like a word with Bella."

"Good luck with that," muttered Jessica, but she left them alone. Cedric turned to Bella, who looked as if she had intended to slip off after Jessica.

"Bella," he began cautiously.

"I thought I told you I wasn't interested," she said.

"I know," said Cedric. "But I thought it might help you a bit if - "

"No," said Bella in a flat, final voice.

Cedric knew he probably shouldn't, but he reached out tentatively toward Bella's mind anyway. To his surprise he encountered a barrier, and pushing gently against it found that it felt quite strong. He withdrew quickly, wondering what had gone wrong.

Bella was gaping at him.

* * *

**How am I doing so far? Should I continue with this? Should I pair up Cedric and Bella? I won't know unless you tell me!**

**What Cedric is doing here is not quite the same thing as Legilimency, which has been described as "the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings." I think it would be closer to what Madeleine L'Engle calls "kything," which is a form of mental and spiritual communication which can be called "telepathy" though it goes a bit deeper than that. Cedric can do it without a wand because the Elves taught it to him. If I didn't explain that well enough, leave me a vicious flame. I hope the minor edit in Chapter 2 helps.**

**See y'all later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again!**

**I am going to present an idea which many of you will consider openly heretical: In J. K. Rowling's books, being a wizard or witch seems to be something you're born with. To me, that's like saying that there are such things as born musicians, or born mathmeticians, or born professional sports players. In my mind it's all about discipline, hard work, and the intent to improve that creates in a person what people tend to think is purely a result of innate talent.**

**I'm not saying I don't believe that there is such a thing as natural talent. I'm saying that if a person puts in enough hours at doing something, and doing it with the intent to get better at it, they can literally do anything they want to, and this ought to apply to magic.**

**Now of course this is a lot harder than it may sound, because to truly master something requires a **_**lot**_ **of hours - 10,000 according to Malcolm Gladwell - and you spend those hours essentially torturing yourself because you spend them trying to do things that are too hard for you. That's what I mean by the intent to improve because it's how you get better. That's what defines true mastery.**

**So in my universe, magic is a discipline like anything else - a very difficult and dangerous discipline, but not something that is determined by birth like the color of your eyes. Some people do have a natural talent for it, but anyone can learn to wield it if they are willing to work super hard and torture themselves on order to get good.**

**To continue this piece of star-defying audacity, I have to of course offer an explanation as to why some people get letters from places like Hogwarts and some don't. Well, the people who get the letters are those who have the natural, inborn aptitude for magic; those who don't get the letters are those who do not have the natural, inborn aptitude. This doesn't mean they can't do any magic; it simply means that they have to work a good bit harder at it. So much for Muggles and purebloods!**

**Okay, I'll shut up and go on with the story. Of course, I own nothing.**

* * *

"What did you just do?" Bella's voice sounded strangled.

"You - felt that?" muttered Cedric, cursing his carelessness. "I'm sorry, it must have been awful - "

"No - " She shook her head as if to clear it. "I'm fine - it actually felt kind of - nice. . ." She almost winced as she spoke, as if it was some sort of crime to find joy in anything.

Cedric sighed. "I - I know it's more than a bit intrusive, barging in like that - "

"Then leave me alone."

"Aren't you already alone, Bella?" The instant the words were out of his mouth he wished he had not spoken.

She flushed scarlet, her eyes flashed fire, and she looked furious; then, to his great dismay, she burst into tears.

"Oh no, don't _cry_!" Cedric scrambled into the backseat. "I really _am_ sorry - I didn't mean anything by it - just please don't _cry_!" Cautiously he touched her shoulder. She reacted instantly, turning her body toward him and burying her face in his sweater, startling Cedric even more - was this the shy, self-effacing, introverted, attention-hating Bella of Jessica's tales? Awkwardly, for he had very little experience with female tears, he wrapped his arms round her.

Bella only cried for about two full minutes, then Cedric felt her begin to calm, though she did not yet lift her head. "You're warm," she said into his shoulder.

"What?" asked Cedric not understanding.

"Nothing," murmured Bella. She raised her head, and made a grimace that Cedric thought was meant to be a smile. "Sorry," she croaked, clearly embarrassed.

"That's all right," said Cedric, also embarrassed. "I - "

Jessica opened the driver's door at that moment and poked her head in. She froze, obviously startled by the scene: Cedric with his arms around Bella, and Bella herself with the obvious traces of tears on her face. "Um - is everything okay in here?" she asked.

"Everything's fine," said Bella hastily pulling free of Cedric, who found himself strangely reluctant to let go of her. Still goggling, Jessica pulled a packet of tissues from her purse and passed one to Bella, who took it and discreetly wiped her face.

"Um, I have the tickets, if you guys still feel like seeing the movie," said Jessica hesitantly.

"Oh, sure," said Bella. "Thanks, Jess." She got of the car at once. Cedric followed suit, and Jessica handed them their tickets.

The movie theater was like nothing Cedric had ever seen before in his life. It was a very large, somewhat dark room with row upon row of chairs all facing in the same direction. At the end of the large room facing the chairs was an enormous blank screen. Cedric followed Jessica and Bella, who obviously knew what they were doing, and plopped down beside them when they chose their seats. He noticed as he did so that a number of the other people choosing their seats held bags of popcorn (a few were already eating it), the sight of which made him hungry. Apparently people ate while watching movies.

"I say," said Cedric to the two girls. "Are either of you hungry?"

Bella stared blankly up at him, but Jessica looked rather amused. "I was thinking we could get something to eat after the movie's over, since this the early showing, but if you want some popcorn now, go ahead," she said.

Cedric wondered how he could ask where to get the popcorn without making it obvious that he had no idea where to find it, and so he said, "Never mind then. I can wait."

The previews in the beginning were a bit of a shock. After the first one was finished Cedric thought the whole movie was over, and began to get up only to be yanked down again by Jessica who hissed, "Where are you going? It hasn't even started yet!" And Cedric sat down again feeling rather glum. _Thanks for nothing, Julie_, he thought darkly, for Julie had not warned him about the previews.

Then when the movie really did start - and he guessed it was the actual movie because it took so long to introduce - it didn't seem like anything so very unfamiliar. A boy and a girl were walking hand in hand on a beach talking about how much they liked each other. It was so obviously put on that Cedric felt a bit disgusted.

Bella turned on Jessica. "I thought this was the zombie movie," she said in a tone that was almost accusatory.

"It is the zombie movie," Jessica confirmed.

"Then why isn't anyone getting eaten?"

People were going to be eaten?!

Jessica looked alarmed. "I'm sure that part's coming," she said.

Bella stood up quickly, muttering, "I'm getting popcorn. Do you guys want any?" And she vanished without waiting for an answer.

_It must be the romance_, thought Cedric. _She really is torn up about this Edward, whoever he is, if she can't even handle seeing it in a movie_.

Suddenly he had a horrible idea. _What if Edward's a wizard, and he used a Love Potion on her, and she's depressed because she's having a reaction to being without it? Or what if he used something Dark on her and she's only just recovering from it_?

Cedric barely saw the next few minutes of the movie as he carefully considered what he had seen of Bella's behavior from this new vantage point. Other than the depression which, according to Jessica, had been a constant for three and a half months, he could not think of anything which would indicate the lingering effects of Dark Magic. He was not sure about a Love Potion; it was likely enough.

_Or perhaps it's got nothing to do with magic at all - maybe she's been abused_.

As he thought about it, this latest option became terrifyingly probable. Bella clearly wasn't about to talk to anyone about Edward in any regard, and she reacted rather violently to his name or the subject of her relationship with him. Even Jessica, the school gossip, had not seemed to know much of anything about the relationship; though everyone in the school, apparently, had known _of_ it. Certain things she had said and done hinted at an abnormally high level of insecurity, though of course that might simply be the way Bella thought of herself without any outside influence at all.

But if she _had_ been abused, what was to be done about it? The emotional outburst in the car earlier that evening was clearly something very much out of character for her. He doubted she was going to make herself so vulnerable to him again. And he was not going to attempt to penetrate her mind by any forced means ever again.

His musings were interrupted by Bella's return with the popcorn.

* * *

**Is anybody still reading this, I wonder?**

**Part of the material for this chapter is of course taken from Stephenie Meyer's _New Moon_.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! It's me with Chapter 6. A fair portion of this material is almost directly quoted from Stephenie Meyer's _New Moon_.**

**Obviously I own nothing.**

* * *

"You missed everything," said Jessica. "Almost everyone is a zombie now."

Cedric looked up at the screen in surprise. It seemed to be total chaos: people were running and screaming, and horrible creatures that looked like Inferi were chasing after them and killing them. Blood and gore and bodies were spattered everywhere. He shuddered, repressing a cry with some difficulty. _Is this was Muggles like to see_? He wondered. _People getting killed by their versions of Living Dead_?

"Long line," said Bella, sitting down and offering them some of her popcorn. Jessica took a bit, but Cedric felt queasy at the very thought of food, what with watching "zombies" eat people's _organs_. He sat through the rest of the movie with his lips pressed together, trying hard not to relive his own brushes with death, particularly in the Triwizard Tournament (which, oddly enough, were much more traumatic than his actual death had been). Beside him, Jessica was screaming.

At length, when there was only one girl left alive - the girl who had been walking on the beach with her boyfriend at the beginning - Cedric was distracted by Bella suddenly standing up.

"Where are you going?" asked Jessica. "There's like two minutes left!"

Bella mumbled something that might have been "Need a drink," and disappeared again. She did not come back in time for the end of the movie, which was simply the last "zombie" eating the only remaining girl in horrible detail. He was very much relieved when the whole thing was over and there was an excuse to leave.

"That," he said to Jessica. "Was the most awful thing I've ever watched in my life. I'm sure I'm not going to sleep for a week."

"I'm probably going to have nightmares for longer than that," said Jessica. "I wonder why Bella wanted to watch it; she's not normally into horror-type movies."

_Bella_ had chosen the movie? "Well, let's go find her, anyhow," said Cedric, wondering why she had left the theater twice if the movie had been her choice.

They found Bella sitting on a bench just outside the doors. She didn't look as if she had been throwing up or crying; her face was completely blank. She looked up when she saw Cedric and Jessica.

"Was it too scary for you?" asked Jessica.

"Yeah," said Bella tonelessly. "I guess I'm just a coward."

Cedric rather doubted that this was the reason she had bolted out of the theater, and apparently so did Jessica, for she frowned and said, "That's funny - I didn't think you _were_ scared - I was screaming all the time, but I didn't hear you scream once. So I didn't know why you left."

"You are all right, aren't you?" asked Cedric.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Bella. "Just scared." She stood up. "Let's go eat."

"Any place in particular you guys want to go?" asked Jessica.

"Not really," said Cedric, with a look at Bella.

"Whatever's fine," said Bella.

They exited the theater. By now it was quite dark, and Cedric asked the girls if they wouldn't rather drive than walk at this hour.

"Thought you were the country boy," said Jessica. "Seriously, the McDonald's is like three blocks away - you can almost see it from here. Nothing's going to happen, Cedric."

"All right," said Cedric, and the three of them went out into the cold night.

Most all the shops on the street were closed for the night, and the lights of the McDonald's made it stand out in the surrounding darkness of unlighted windows. Everything seemed to be well and good until they had walked about a block. Cedric noticed then that there was one lighted window nearby - One-Eyed Pete's. It looked like a pub, and it was on the opposite side of the street from where they were walking.

Then Cedric got rather a shock. Standing outside the door of One-Eyed Pete's were four men. They didn't seem to be doing anything in particular, and that made Cedric want to take both Bella and Jessica by the arm and rush them straight to the McDonald's. He debated the idea as they passed the place, though nothing happened.

It was only when they had passed it that Bella suddenly stopped walking and glanced back, forcing Cedric and Jessica to stop too. Then Bella actually turned around, staring at the men in front of the pub.

And just at that moment, one of the men looked up in interest, his eyes lighting on Bella. Bella stared back at him, unmoving, with a look on her face that Cedric couldn't interpret but felt very uneasy about.

"What the - " gasped Jessica.

"Bella!" hissed Cedric. "Have you gone mad?! What are you _doing_?"

"I think I know them. . ." murmured Bella, and to Cedric's horror she began to step down from the sidewalk into the street.

"_Where exactly do you think you're going_?" asked Cedric in a voice of low thunder. Bella continued to walk across the street, not heeding him.

Cedric darted into the street and seized her by the arm. "Isabella Swan," he said into her ear. "I don't know if you're suicidal or you've lost your head or what, but you're going to turn round and come back with me right now, or else I'll - I'll _make_ you!"

She had started when his hand fastened on her arm, and she seemed to come alive as he spoke to her. She stared up into his face with wide eyes that seemed far too bright. "Sorry, Edward," she said a little breathlessly.

"Never mind it, Bella," said Cedric, completely disregarding her mistake. "Just come." He guided her back to where Jessica was standing. "Come on," he said, not releasing Bella. They hurried on to the McDonald's without stopping, and arrived without incident. No one said a word until they reached the restaurant. Cedric let go of Bella as they stepped inside.

"Okay," said Jessica. "What are we ordering?"

Cedric almost sighed. The inside of the restaurant was yet another unfamiliar sight, and he had not had much experience with ordering food. The choices on the big lighted sign overhead (the girls called it a menu) might as well have been gibberish for all he knew what they were. Jessica ordered first, and Cedric said, "What she said," and Bella said, "The same for me," and there was an end of the matter.

Bella still seemed rather out of it, and Jessica was obviously unhappy, as she was for once completely silent. She did not look at Bella throughout the meal. Cedric did not attempt to break the silence.

After they had all finished eating, they left the restaurant and walked back to where Jessica's car was parked without stopping. They got in, and Jessica started the engine and drove them in silence. When she pulled up in front of Bella's house, Bella paused in the act of getting out and said, "Thanks for going out with me, Jess. Sorry about - what happened after the movie."

_What about me_? thought Cedric. _Don't you have anything to say to me_? _No "thank you" or "why the hell did you do that" or anything_?

"Whatever, Bella," said Jessica, not looking at Bella.

"See you tomorrow?" - cautiously.

"Sure. Bye," said Jessica shortly.

Bella was halfway out of the car when Jessica said, "Uh, Bella - don't you owe someone else an apology too, not to mention a thank-you?"

"Erm, that's all right, really," said Cedric hastily, but Bella had already turned around. "Thank you, Cedric," she said dully. Then she shut the car door and walked back to her house.

Jessica drove back to her house, once more in silence, and they went inside. Cedric paused for just a moment before shutting the front door; in that split second, he thought he had seen a cloaked and hooded figure, short and slender, standing motionless just across the street.

* * *

**I already told you guys, I don't really like or understand Edward, Bella, or Jacob, but that doesn't mean I can't at least try to portray them well. Truth be told, I'm not even that fond of Twilight in general - so why am I even writing this? Am I doing okay, Twihards?**

**Let me know in a review, or even a PM if you so desire.**

**In response to BlueEyedGirl: Thank you! I had thought that Cedric was an only child, but I wasn't sure, and I want to get things like this right!**

**In response to Guest Reviewer: Bella's here. If you can't find her in the story at this point, I'm sorry, but I really can't help you.**


	7. Chapter 7

**And here enters one of my favorite female fantasy characters of all time! Sorry this chapter took so long; for some reason it was very hard to write.**

**For those of you who want to know where this falls in HP bookverse, this is during The Order of the Phoenix. It is January, and Harry is just starting Occlumency lessons with Severus Snape.**

* * *

Dolores Umbridge was sitting demurely in a comfortable armchair in her flower-decorated and lace-adorned office. Facing her was the little vampire Jane wrapped in a dark cloak. Neither of them noticed a tiny point of white light hovering in the corner of the room.

"Are you sure of this?" asked Dolores. "Are you _sure_ it was him that you saw? It really won't do to have made a mistake, my dear Jane."

"Absolutely positive," said the Jane in a high, childish voice. Her snowy white flawless face was far too pretty for a human's but not quite pretty enough for a Veela's. The irises of her eyes were a dark red, a product of her constant feasts on human blood.

"Well then," said Dolores. "You have your reward: your choice among the prisoners of Azkaban. But no more than two, mind; we can't have rumors of a mass escape or anything of the sort."

"Duly noted," said Jane, her crimson eyes gleaming.

Dolores smiled pleasantly. "Be sure not to forget it. We don't want anyone from the Ministry to have to come to Italy and pay Aro and his guard a disciplinary visit."

At this Jane snarled, her exquisite face becoming a mask of utter fury, but Dolores smiled more brightly than ever. "That'll be all, dear," she said, and without another word Jane turned and glided out the window before vanishing into the night.

Dolores sat back in her chair and pondered the news she had received. This was most unexpected, and admittedly alarming. That young Cedric Diggory was alive was quite impossible of course; but vampires did not make mistakes in such matters. There was no particular reason for the vampires to lie about having sighted the boy either: it was to their own best interests to report news to the Ministry that the Ministry wanted to hear. That Cedric Diggory was still alive and kicking, and futhermore might at any moment return and back up that troublesome Potter in the blather about the return of He-Who-Was-Not-Named - well, that was the most unwelcome news Dolores Umbridge had had in a long time.

But what was to be done about it? Obviously the news of any sighting of young Diggory must at all costs be kept from the boy's father. And some steps must be taken to ensure that he was kept quiet. No one needed to hear anything disquieting from him, like nonsense about the return of He-Who-Was-Not-Named. It could wreak havoc on all of Dolores' efforts to secure Cornelius' position, and to undermine old Albus Dumbledore in his attempts to take over the Ministry.

Well, there was clearly only one thing to be done under the circumstances. Young Diggory must not be allowed the chance to speak. She picked up her quill and penned a short letter.

The point of light in the corner vanished.

* * *

In the Headmaster's office the point of light reappeared. It floated over to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's desk and flitted round his head a couple of times until he looked up, startled. He saw it and smiled in amusement. "Well, what a pleasant surprise! By all means make yourself at home in my office."

The little point of light winked out, and a moment later a woman was standing in the middle of the office. She was tall and slender and graceful, and more radiantly beautiful than any other living creature on earth. Her face was lit as by the open moon, her clear grey eyes shone like two stars, and her lustrous black hair fell slightly past her waist. She was wearing a simple garment of dark blue which left her flawless white arms bare. An aura of purity and deep joy hung in the air, and a faint fragrance like flowers seemed to have blown into the room. Altogether she looked very much out of place in Dumbledore's office.

"Is this the Headmaster's office?" she asked in great interest. Her voice was sweet and clear and musical. "I have never seen it before."

"Oh?" said Dumbledore in surprise. "But of course; I forgot that only certain of your esteemed relatives had done me the honor of visiting me here at Hogwarts. But I expect is was not to see my office that you came to see me, my dear Luthien."

"It was not," said Luthien Tinuviel. "Though it is a fascinating place, your office. But I have come with news. Young Cedric is quietly attending a Muggle school in Washington for the moment, safe for the moment but not for long. I was in England when I saw one of Aro's little twins, Jane. I could not think what she was doing there, so I changed my form and followed her. She came _here_, Albus. Here to Hogwarts."

"And what did she do?" asked Dumbledore.

"She went to the Defense against the Dark Arts office where that dreadful woman plots her evil - "

"My dear lady," said Dumbledore. "I would appreciate it if you could refrain from insulting my staff."

"Your staff!" scoffed Luthien. "You cannot pretend it was your wish to hire that snake! That witch is ruthless and cunning and _powerful_, far more powerful than she may seem even to you, if she can whip the Volturi into shape!"

"The Volturi?" asked Dumbledore sharply.

"The Volturi, Albus," said Luthien. "That Dolores has made them her spies, apparently. Jane had come to report that she had seen Cedric and recognized him, and I think Dolores is plotting to kill him, or otherwise silence him. That, by the way, is mainly what I came to tell you - that the Volturi know that Cedric is alive, and now Dolores Umbridge knows that he is alive. And that Dolores seems to have some hold on Aro and his precious guard - at least she threatened a disciplinary visit if, to use the popular expression, they stepped out of line."

Dumbledore sat lost in thought for a moment or two. Then he said, "Thank you for telling me all this. Since Maglor sent word to me that Cedric Diggory was alive, I had hoped that he would remain hidden until such time as his return could prove helpful. But I think that it is time to induct him into the Order now, as the Ministry has made him a target."

"I hoped you would say so," said Luthien, and she smiled. "A few of us have been teaching him to defend himself in combat, and I believe he is ready to join your Order."

"Good!" said Dumbledore.

"Then I must go," said Luthien. "For if Dolores Umbridge means harm to Cedric then we must take him into the Order before another day has passed, if we can. Should we bring him to the Burrow or to Grimmauld Place?"

"Grimmauld Place, I would say," said Dumbledore. "Sirius is in need of company right now, I believe."

"It shall be done, then," said Luthien. A white light began to envelop her physical form and then condense itself into the small point that had originally entered the office. But in another moment she changed back to her own form and said, "By the way, Albus, how fares Harry?"

"Harry?" Dumbledore smiled rather sadly. "He is well enough, but he is - well, suffering through a rather rough growing stage, I believe. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," said Luthien. She changed herself back into the little point of light and vanished from Albus Dumbledore's office.

* * *

**So, for those of you not familiar with the HP universe, the Order of the Phoenix is a secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore to work against the Dark wizard Voldemort. The Order is headquartered at the Burrow, which is the home of the Weasley family, and at Grimmauld Place, which is the home of Sirius Black. The Weasley family and Sirius Black are both very close friends of Harry Potter; in fact, Sirius is his godfather. The British Ministry of Magic is the organisation that makes the wizarding laws in the British Isles.**

**For those of you not familiar with the Twilight universe, ****the Volturi are the royal family of vampires who make and enforce the laws that other vampires worldwide are expected to uphold. Aro is their leader, and he lives with his two brothers and his vampire guard in Italy.**

**For those of you not familiar with Tolkien's universe, Luthien Tinuviel is one of his legendary characters. She is actually half Elf and half Maia (a Maia is a spirit being who can take a physical form and who has great power). She is famous for falling in love with a human, a mortal Man named Beren, and enduring great dangers and hardships alongside him. They actually both died and were allowed to return to life, their love story was so exceptional. You'll have to read The Silmarillion to really get the full impact of who Luthien is.**

**As always, please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long.**

**I just realized that I skipped right over Cedric's eighteenth birthday! I'm awful.**

**As always, I own nothing.**

* * *

In the middle of the night Cedric woke up with a start. Someone had clamped a hand tightly over his mouth.

_That was quick_, came an amused mental 'voice' - it was Maedhros, one of Maglor's brothers. Cedric would have breathed a sigh of relief if his mouth had been free.

_Make no noise_, continued the Elf. _Find your wand and come with me at once_.

_I'm not an Elf, I can't see in the dark_, complained Cedric.

_Fine - where do you keep your wand_? asked Maedhros.

Cedric showed him an image of the lampstand drawer, and in a moment Maedhros had silently opened the drawer, drawn out the ash wand, and even more carefully shut the drawer again. He placed it in Cedric's right hand, startling him again. _Now get up and take my arm. Hold on tightly; I am going to Apparate with you_, came the command.

_What?! Why? Where?_

_Get UP, you ridiculous boy, we are leaving NOW!_

_Will I be coming back?_

_No. Take my arm._

Cedric, feeling rather dumbfounded, climbed out of bed and, blundering in the dark of the room for Maedhros' arm, found it at last and clutched it. There was a soft popping sound, and Cedric felt suddenly as if some giant hand were choking and squeezing him. He was trying to gasp, but could not -

In another moment he realized that he was breathing more freely, and that he was now in quite a different place, with a great deal more light. At a second glance he saw that he was back in Daeron's house, in the library in fact. Maglor was standing there, looking anxious, and next to him was Luthien, whom he had met before. Her prescence was as refreshing and her beauty as worshipful as ever.

"You see," said Maedhros. "Safe and sound in a matter of minutes."

"I did not doubt _you_," said Maglor. "I only feared we might have been too late."

"Late for what?" asked Cedric who had caught his breath and was now feeling a bit outraged. "It's got to be one in the morning or something - "

"Half past two," said Maedhros absently.

"Fine, half past two. Couldn't it have waited until later?"

"No," said Luthien. "Have you your wand, Cedric?"

"I've got it here," said Cedric, lifting his right hand, in which was clutched his wand.

"Good," said Luthien, obviously relieved.

"Hang on," said Cedric. "Where's Daeron?"

"Daeron is trying to conjure a Perkin's tent," said Maglor. "I have been trying to tell him that there was no need to stay up all night perfecting that Extension Charm he has not learned yet, but he can be so _stubborn_ at times."

"Now _that_ is the pot calling the kettle black," laughed Luthien. "Are you ready to Apparate again, Cedric?"

"Apparate again? Where?"

"Yes, Luthien, where is he going?" asked Maedhros. "You only told me to fetch Cedric as quickly as I could, and I have brought him. Where are we taking him now?"

"To London," said Luthien.

"I'm going back to England?!" cried Cedric. "But I thought - "

"That for your safety you were staying in America?" said Luthien. "You were, but now the British Ministry knows that you are alive here - "

"They know?" cried Maglor and Maedhros together.

"My father works for the Ministry!" said Cedric at the same time, and an acute wave of homesickness swept over him.

"I have misspoken," said Luthien. "I should have said that _someone_ at the Ministry knows you are alive and in America. She is the Senior Undersecretary - "

"I've seen her!" said Cedric. "She likes wearing lots of pink and a black bow on her head." He stopped abruptly, for he had been going to add, "And she looks like an old toad," but had thought better of it.

"She does look like a mean old toad," said Maglor. "Go on, Luthien."

"As I say, she's the Minister's right hand," said Luthien. "She wants to kill you, I think."

"Why would somebody in the Ministry want to kill me?" Cedric had always subconsciously looked on the Ministry as the place to which to turn for help; certainly as the primary reason behind Voldemort's fall - aside from the Boy Who Lived, of course.

The three Elves exchanged loaded looks.

Maedhros cleared his throat. "Er-hm, Cedric," he said. "Maglor and Daeron never gave you the Daily Prophet while you were staying with them, did they?"

"No," said Cedric. "You wouldn't get an English paper in America, though."

"Well, we do get an occasional issue every once in a while," said Maglor. "That old fool Fudge seems to have marked out your young friend Harry as somewhat of a wanted man - "

"_Harry_?!" cried Cedric. "Why on earth?" He realized guiltily how absent Harry had been from his thoughts since his return to life.

"Because it was Harry who brought back the news of Voldemort's return," said Maglor sharply. "The Minister fears the loss of his position if he allows wizarding society to take the return of Voldemort seriously. He chooses, therefore, to refuse to believe Harry, and is doing his best to discredit the boy in whatever way he can."

"Then isn't anybody doing anything about Voldemort's return?" asked Cedric in dismay.

"No," said Maglor grimly. "And the few who do speak up are trodden on for their pains."

"Actually that is not quite true," said Luthien. "And that is where you come in. When first Voldemort began to rise to power, when he began to gather followers who became the Death Eaters, Albus Dumbledore founded a secret society to work against him. I was there then - ah yes," at Cedric's questioning look. "The Eldar have set foot in the grounds of Hogwarts on occasion, though you young wizards may not remember. It was _that_ society that worked quietly to make their attacks upon Voldemort more effective, though the Ministry did officially raise its hand against Voldemort.

"The Order disbanded when Voldemort fell, but as you saw he was restored to life - "

"If life if the word for his existence," growled Maedhros.

"And when Harry returned to Hogwarts after the duel," went on Luthien. "Albus' society, the Order of the Phoenix, was reawakened, and has taken up the fight against the army that Voldemort is raising up. And this time they have no help from the Ministry."

"Well, if there's an Order actively working against Voldemort, then I want to join it!" said Cedric.

Luthien smiled radiantly. "I had hoped you would say so," she said.

"But if he's to be in the Order, then why now and not sooner?" inquired Maglor.

"As I told you before," said Luthien. "That Ministry woman - the Senior Undersecretary or whatever they call her - knows now that he is here, and if she means well to him, then I am a fool. That Cornelius Fudge has installed her at Hogwarts, and I understand she makes it her business to stamp out any of what she calls 'Harry's horrible lies' about Voldemort's return. She knows that if Cedric returned now and confirmed what Harry has been saying all along, folk would have no choice but to take Voldemort's return seriously. I myself saw her receive news of Cedric tonight, and I thought there was no time to lose, so I came here at once."

"Did you at least warn Albus that he is getting a new Order member?" asked Maedhros.

"Of course!" said Luthien.

"Hang on a minute," said Cedric. "I'm still not clear - where exactly are you taking me?"

"To Order headquarters," said Luthien. "That is, to 12 Grimmauld Place in London, the old home of the Blacks. Sirius will meet you there."

"_Sirius Black_?" gasped Cedric. "The convict?"

To his utter bewilderment, the Elves laughed. "This will take some explaining!" said Maedhros.

"You do it," said Luthien. "I've given enough explanations tonight."

"No one bosses a son of Feanor!" said Maedhros imperiously.

"I do," said Luthien smiling so brilliantly that the whole room seemed to grow brighter.

Maedhros sighed. "In brief, Cedric, Sirius Black is not a criminal. He was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit."

"But who murdered Peter Pettigrew then?"

"Peter Pettigrew was never murdered," said Maedhros. "He is alive now, in fact."

Did the Ministry get _anything_ right?! Cedric rubbed his head. "So I'm going to Sirius Black's house?" he asked.

"You are probably going to _stay_ at Grimmauld Place," said Luthien. "Albus said that Sirius is alone there for the moment and would like some company."

"All right," said Cedric. "I suppose I'll have to stay inside there and not go out?"

"I am afraid so," said Luthien.

"Then - " Cedric's throat tightened painfully. "I won't see my father?"

"Cedric," said Maedhros. "Your father believes you _dead_."

"Right," said Cedric, swallowing and squaring his shoulders. "Sorry about that."

He thought he saw Maglor's arm start to move toward him, but it stopped abruptly.

"Well, I'm ready," said Cedric.

Luthien held out her arm. Rather hesitantly, for Luthien was not the sort of beautiful woman that one would think of touching, Cedric took hold of her wrist and clutched for dear life.

* * *

**By the way, I thought you should know that one of my most devoted readers (kenziescott54) is my own sister, and she's really pushing me to get this story updated quickly. Every day she says to me, "So, how about that story you're writing?" and I reply, "I'm working on it, I'm working on it!" So thank her for the updates when I do get 'em up.**

**Once again, I'd love to hear from you all to see how you like it!**


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